Spencer Leniu in fresh clash with Johnathan Thurston after Origin development

Yahoo

06-05-2025

NSW coach Laurie Daley is ready to select controversial Roosters forward Spencer Leniu for State of Origin Game 1 with the Blues player set to come together with Johnathan Thurston once again. Leniu is considered one of the more divisive figures in rugby league and is never far away from a headline.
The Roosters forward's aggression and barnstorming runs having been a huge asset for the club and last year then-Blues coach Michael Maguire selected Spencer on the bench. Leniu brought his aggression into the Origin arena with NSW winning 2-1.
However, Leniu has been struggling for consistent form in 2025 having started four games at prop due to injuries at the Roosters. He has featured off the bench three times. While Leniu has only cracked 100 running metres twice this year, his energy from the bench has been a bonus in the past.
And according to , Daley has locked Leniu into a bench position for Game 1 at Suncorp. With Payne Haas a certainty to start at prop once again, there is potentially two more positions for front row forwards in Daley's side.
On Tuesday morning, NSW great Greg Alexander also suggested Leniu was a lock alongside Haas and last year's prop Mitchell Barnett. This could leave Wests Tigers prop and workhorse Terrell May fighting for a position in the team across the next few weeks.
Leniu's selection will sure bring the ferocity to Brisbane for Game 1 with fans potentially making him a target. And it will also put him on a collision course with Queensland legend Thurston.
Leniu and Thurston were involved in a high-profile argument after a Roosters game a few weeks ago. The Roosters forward copped an eight-game suspension in 2024 after calling Broncos star Ezra Mam a 'monkey'. Thurston was highly critical of Leniu last year and said the eight-game suspension he received for the racial slur didn't go far enough. Leniu claimed he didn't realise the term "monkey" had racial connotations.
And Leniu tore into Channel 9's Thurston a few weeks ago after the pair came face-to-face after a Roosters game. JT was clearly rattled by the confrontation but decided not to lodge an official complaint. Leniu was reportedly upset that Thurston has not been nearly as vocal about Mam crashing his car last year in an incident that injured a child and saw him cop a nine-game ban. 'I never wanted to talk to the JT,' Leniu wrote on Instagram after the public blow-up.
And after the high-profile spat, the pair appear set to come together again. Thurston will be part of Billy Slater's coaching staff once again, and will likely be on the sideline with the headset like we've seen in recent years. And Leniu's participation will be sure to get the crowd going.
Daley has previously praised Leniu's aggression, which he felt was made for Origin. 'I love when Spencer plays with that passion and controlled aggression – I think he's such a destructive front-rower," Daley said. "I like it when he's in that mindset, and gets his team going forward."
Leniu and Thurston's clash last month also had Blues great Mark Geyer excited for the storyline heading into Game 1 in Brisbane. "It's given us a really good entrée for Origin," Geyer told the about the Leniu and Thurston altercation. 'You can't tell me that 95 per cent of people watching that game the other night didn't start thinking about Origin, and what it will be like seeing Spencer in action come Origin time. They'll raise the roof. It will be awesome.'